A Labor Government will invest in public transport to relieve urban congestion. Left unaddressed, urban congestion will cost $53 billion by 2031 according to Infrastructure Australia.

This stands in contrast to the Coalition who want to invest in toll roads and have cut funding from public transport projects.

Recently I attended a public meeting in Rozelle where residents expressed their concern over the lack of proper planning for the WestConnex project.

In January this year, I wrote to the Auditor General demanding an audit into the WestConnex project for this reason.

Prior to that, in November 2014, I wrote to the WestConnex Delivery Authority chairman, Tony Shepherd, saying this:

‘From what has been published, the proposal to widen the M5 and dump traffic at St Peters interchange is absurd. The notion that delivering additional traffic to King Street, Newtown, and parallel congested back-routes represents proper planning is beyond belief.’

Public transport must be at the heart of any government’s policy to relieve the growing problem of urban congestion.

When I was the Minister for Infrastructure I invested more in public transport than all governments combined since Federation.

Only a Labor Government will deliver record public transport investment.